The achievements of Government so far and the challenges ahead are highlighted in a mid-term report to be presented to the November sitting of Tynwald by Chief Minister Allan Bell MHK.
Entitled ‘Securing A Sustainable Future For Our Island’, the report gives examples of progress against the three core priorities – protect the vulnerable, grow the economy, balance the budget – set out in the Council of Ministers’ Agenda for Change document.
It outlines the big challenges facing the Isle of Man in the next decade, and proposes a revised performance framework based on national outcomes linked to strategic objectives.
In his foreword to the report the Chief Minister writes: ‘There is still much to do, but I am encouraged by our progress to date. We have delivered on many of the commitments made in Agenda for Change and have created a platform on which we can deliver further reform.
‘It will not be easy, but working together we can secure a sustainable future for our Island and honour our responsibilities to the generations that will follow us.’
Key achievements indicated in the report include:
- Maintaining economic growth, confidence and employment through a period of external recession, substantial VAT revenue loss and Government downsizing
- Delivering on the promise to rebalance the revenue budget by 2015/16
- Making Government smaller, reducing the number of Departments from nine to seven and merging the Manx Electricity Authority with the Water and Sewerage Authority
- Reducing the Government salary budget by £53 million in real terms
- Delivering nearly £15 million in internal efficiency savings, protecting frontline services
- Raising over £7.5 million from the sale of Government property plus annual rental savings
- Saving almost £5 million by means testing Child Benefit, freeing up funding to increase pre-school nursery places for children
- Introducing fixed tenancies for public sector housing, helping to ensure that this resource supports those most in need
- Building 327 new homes, including 61 for first time buyers and 241 for people on lower incomes
- Supporting business growth and jobs across the economic sectors, including a £5 million investment in engineering skills
- Reducing the number of young unemployed by over 20%
- Committing over £10 million to the regeneration of towns and villages
- Grown the number of tourists by 10%, including a 30% increase in visitors to the TT and Festival of Motorcycling
Looking ahead, the report identifies the major continuing challenges as: modernisation of the welfare system; making health and social care affordable; remaining vigilant to external regulatory and political developments; adapting to climate change; balancing the budget longer-term, dealing with reserve funds and public sector pensions; and maintaining the drive towards smaller, smarter Government by reducing bureaucracy and increasing the use of technology.
